StockNews.com Begins Coverage on AES (NYSE:AES)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of AES (NYSE:AES – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

AES has been the topic of a number of other reports. TheStreet cut shares of AES from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of AES from $29.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AES from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AES to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of AES in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.00.

AES Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of AES opened at $22.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.18. AES has a 12-month low of $18.62 and a 12-month high of $29.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $25.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.37.

AES (NYSE:AES – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. AES had a positive return on equity of 37.94% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AES will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st will be issued a $0.1659 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 28th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. AES’s dividend payout ratio is currently -75.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andres Gluski sold 748,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.43, for a total value of $21,283,408.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,285,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,546,878.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in AES by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 15,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 4,855 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in AES by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,130,000 after purchasing an additional 6,282 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in AES by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 201,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,800,000 after purchasing an additional 5,397 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in AES in the fourth quarter worth $222,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AES by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 282,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,122,000 after purchasing an additional 4,135 shares during the period. 95.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AES Company Profile

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The AES Corp. engages in the provision of power generation and utility services through its renewable and thermal generation facilities and distribution businesses. It operates through the following segments: U.S. and Utilities Strategic Business Unit (SBU), South America SBU, MCAC SBU, Eurasia SBU. The U.S.